CHICAGO, IL - JUNE 07: Morgan Freeman is honored by the Gene Siskel Film Center at the Ritz Carlton on June 7, 2014 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Timothy Hiatt/Getty Images)

In an interview with the Daily Beast which was supposed to be about his recent movie, 5 Flights Up, actor Morgan Freeman instead began discussing the topic of marijuana. The Oscar winning actor told the online magazine that marijuana helps him medically as a pain killer.

“Marijuana has many useful uses,” he says. “I have fibromyalgia pain in this arm, and the only thing that offers any relief is marijuana. They’re talking about kids who have grand mal seizures, and they’ve discovered that marijuana eases that down to where these children can have a life. That right there, to me, says, ‘Legalize it across the board!’”
“And what negative effects does it have?” Freeman continues. “Look at Woodstock 1969. They said, ‘We’re not going to bother them or say anything about smoking marijuana,’ and not one problem or fight. Then look at what happened in ’99,” he says, referencing the less marijuana-friendly 30th-anniversary event, which resulted in riots and arrests.

In the video below, Freeman is asked where he comes up with all of his energy for the seemingly endless stream of movies he puts out. Freeman chuckles slightly before giving credit to “smoking a lot of marijuana.”
Pharmaceutical companies continue to fund campaigns to shut down legalization efforts. People such as Freeman continue to harm their lobbying efforts as they speak the truth. Pharma stands to lose billions in the painkiller market to this natural alternative.